Medical Oxygen: Benefits, Uses & Administration

Oxygen is a crucial element needed by the human body, not only to survive, but for general health and well-being. Medical oxygen is a therapeutic tool that offers the body a higher concentration of oxygen than is naturally present in the air we breathe, leading to many benefits.

Methods of Administration

• Oxygen can be administered via a nasal tube or a face mask fed by an oxygen tank, or through time spent in a hyperbaric chamber, a pressurized tank containing higher concentrations of oxygen in the air.

Respiratory Conditions

• Conditions such as pneumonia or emphysema inhibit the lungs' capacity to process oxygen. Providing the lungs with additional oxygen can relieve shortness of breath and increase energy levels.

Injury Repair

• Oxygen is a vital element in the repair of damaged body tissues. Supplying extra oxygen to the bloodstream allows the damaged cells to receive the oxygen they need to heal.

Mental Capacity

• The use of medical oxygen has been shown to produce short-term benefits such as increased concentration and cognitive abilities immediately after treatment.

Decompression Therapy

• Hyperbaric oxygen therapy is used widely by scuba divers as first aid treatment for decompression sickness, a condition that occurs when a diver ascends too quickly from a dive and bubbles develop in the bloodstream.